Native American Minnesota

MPR interview: How the land of the Dakota and Ojibwe became the State of Minnesota

Mary Lethert Wingerd, author of North Country: The Making of Minnesota, was interviewed on yesterday’s Midday program on MPR: How the land of the Dakota and Ojibwe became the State of Minnesota.

…author Mary Wingerd describes the relationships between indians and whites in the 200 years before statehood and the early years of statehood.

[...]

Strib: Mendota Mdewakanton and the Dakota language

In yesterday’s StarTribune: Mendota tribe struggles to keep language, culture alive

The two-story house in dot-on-the-map Mendota (population: 197) is more ragged than rustic. White paint is peeling off doors. A side porch has collapsed. On the front lawn, weeds have won the turf war against grass.

But on Wednesday nights, supporters of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota [...]

CANCELED: The re-internment of Ohiyesa (Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman); procession comes to MN in July

Update 7/8/2010: I’ve been informed by the owner of the Awicaunhdipi Kte: We Will Bring Them Home blog (no longer viewable) that this event has been canceled.

Beloit College News has some information: Organizers postpone Ohiyesa ‘Journey,’ July 8 event at Beloit College cancelled.

Organizers have indefinitely postponed plans for the reinterment of American Indian [...]

Strib’s Nick Coleman: Fort Snelling is state’s cradle — and stain

This blog has been dormant for over a year, as funding for the project ended when the MN Sesquicentennial (blog) ended.

But with the Sesquicentennial of the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862 less than two years away, I’ll post occasional items as they seem warranted.

To really keep up-to-date, however, historian Bruce White’s Minnesota History [...]

Historian Bruce White’s new blog

Historian Bruce White has added a blog to the home page of his MinnesotaHistory.net site, and he’s begun blogging.

Bruce is one of the state’s most respected historians and has written extensively about Native Americans.

I’ve added the RSS feed of his blog to the lower right sidebar here.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Bruce!

Coldwater Spring/Bureau of Mines Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 2006

Here are the contents of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 2006 CD that was handed out at last night’s Coldwater Spring open house. All the documents are PDFs.

Coldwater Spring/Bureau of Mines Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 2006

Final BOM DEIS July 2006 (482 pages; alternately, see separated document files below) Final Ethnographic Resource Rpt 06_06_06 [...]

Photo album: Coldwater Spring open house

Earlier this evening, I attended the Coldwater Spring open house at the VA Hospital hosted by National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff. (See my January blog post for details.)

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area web site has a set of web pages titled the Bureau of Mines (Coldwater) Current Status [...]

Coldwater Spring open house at VA Hospital on Feb. 23

I got this information (PDF) emailed to me today by Denise Niedzolkowski, Public Relations Specialist and Executive Assistant, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

She wrote: “Attached is the announcement of the public open house for the Camp Coldwater Spring, the property formerly known as the Bureau of Mines.”

See my Dec. blog post National Park Service [...]

Waziyatawin on President Obama and the difference between racism and colonialism

Waziyatawin has letter to the editor in today’s Strib.

As an indigenous person from occupied territory in Minnesota, Obama fever has eluded me. In fact, I find little in Obama’s rhetoric or proposed policies that indicate his presidency will be substantially different from the long list of white guys who have occupied the office before him.

My [...]

Native mural unveiled at Sesquicentennial closing ceremony

Three youth from the Boys and Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area (Deer River, Cass Lake, Walker) unveiled a large Native American-themed mural at today’s Sesquicentennial closing ceremony in the Rotunda of the State Capitol.